Coping with disability in a family is tough enough. But as a new report reveals, households with disabled people face a high price of disability, paying over £1,000 a month more on essentials, and fighting a daily battle for financial and emotional survival.
The Disability Price Tag report from Scope, the disability charity, says that households with disabled people face a wide range of extra inescapable costs associated with managing conditions and supporting accessibility. They also spend more on household essentials than non-disabled people.
On average, disabled households (defined as households with at least one disabled adult or child) need an additional £1,010 a month to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households. The extra cost of disability is equivalent to 67% of household income after housing costs.
The price of disability affects mental health
According to Scope, pressure on disabled households to meet their extra costs makes it harder to have an acceptable standard of living, save money, manage financial shocks and plan for the future. Disability benefit payments rarely cover these extra costs.
Cutting spending is particularly difficult for disabled households because they need to spend more on essentials, like energy, water, specific food and transport. Disabled people are forced to make hard decisions about their household spending, which affects their mental health and leads to stress, anxiety, uncertainty, hopelessness, and even suicidal thoughts. They often also miss out on or avoid medical treatment due to concerns over costs.
Government overlooks its disabled population
Scope wants the government to fix the broken benefits system so that it will be fairer, more transparent, accessible, and provide better support for disabled people with their extra costs. Work Capability Assessment (WCA) must be replaced with an improved alternative with fairer assessment criteria, based on input from disabled people.
The charity is calling for a new positive vision for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to cover the essentials and lower the price of disability. Essential utilities should always be affordable for disabled people, and they should have access to a discounted energy bills scheme. The Warm Home Discount, which offers discounted energy bills based on low income, should include households receiving disability benefits in its eligibility criteria.
According to Scope, ministers should introduce a government-funded “help to repay” scheme to help disabled people address their utilities debt.
Inflation disproportionately affects disabled households
James Taylor, Executive Director of Strategy, Impact and Social Change at Scope says: “Life costs more if you are disabled. These costs are down to many things – the high price of specialist products, as well as the need to use more of essentials like energy.
“These extra costs place an unequal burden on disabled people and families who must meet them. These costs are a result of our society not doing enough – and failing to address the financial disadvantage of living as a disabled person in the UK.
“Over the past few years, we have seen growing inflation and rising prices impact all of us. Impact our bills, impact our ability to enjoy our lives, and impact our ability to save for the future. For disabled households, the impact has been far more pronounced.”
Unmet needs of disabled children
Another new report, from the Council for Disabled Children and the Disabled Children’s Partnership, accuses policy makers of overlooking the needs of disabled children and young people for too long.
It highlights the constant difficulties disabled children face when seeking accessible activities, high quality care and inclusive education, and it demonstrates why well-resourced and properly coordinated services must be a priority.
The report calls for an urgent, ambitious cross-government strategy to drive improvements to decision-making that places disabled children’s needs, wishes and outcomes at its heart and invests more in early intervention and prevention.
Children and families invisible in policy debates
“Successive governments have failed to prioritise the needs of disabled children and their families, and the impact that this has had is stark. Neither social care, education or health are currently meeting the needs of disabled children, with families often having to wait too long to get the help they need,” says Amanda Allard, Director of the Council for Disabled Children and Strategic Director at the National Children’s Bureau.
Anna Bird, chair of the Disabled Children’s Partnership, comments: “More than one in ten children in the UK are disabled, yet their lives – and those of their families – are often invisible in debates about public services and priorities.”
As a result of policy debates overlooking the needs of disabled children, they are not able to live their fullest lives, and their parents struggle to get them the support they need.
